Category Archives: Adventures

Things are changing fast in these parts, not the seasons, of course — winter always does seem to stick around — but certainly everything else.

Last week, Mark was in the midst of interviewing for a job that we didn’t want to get our hopes up over when the price on a home we’ve been watching intently suddenly dropped.

I’ll be the first to say that the home is a total mess…. but it has the bones of a true beauty. Mid-century perfection hiding under a year or sixty of carpeted bathrooms and crumbling brick… it could be our dream home. So we jumped. Neveryoumind the challenge of qualifying for a loan on just one full income…

Did you ever think we’d make it to date 52? To be totally honest, there were a few times in the heat of the summer there where we weren’t so sure ourselves…

It’s not always easy to fit in a date, even if it is something simple like a movie at home… but in a year of uncertainties, I have to say, I’m so glad we made the effort. It might seem forced to schedule a date a week – even more when you have to take a picture of it – but even at its most rushed, this little challenge helped us to look outside the box we might usually live in. The one that might keep driving past that beautiful farm on the super cold day, or might decide to stay in (or just grab another ice cream cone) more often than not. It helped us to plan ahead, to anticipate the time we’d have together, to enjoy it even more, and as an added bonus, to document it along the way.

And why not have some pho and banh mi at the Maryland, er, Washington Monument… it’s date 51, the new year is days from our door, the weather is unseasonably pleasant, and I’m super busy basking in the glow of a few days free from the storm…

I’ll save the resolutions for later. For now, 2014 still has plenty more to give, and I’m trying hard to ignore just how quickly it insists on flying by.

In any regular year, we’d already have our tree. We’d have taken Austin to the tree farm weeks ago to fight over saws and carts with the other local families while waiting to pick the perfect tree from many perfect trees.

But then, this hasn’t been such a regular year… and somehow, like most things, our tree hunting experience came to represent our lives as they are now, and not so much as they were…

Sometimes the day doesn’t go according to plan… 5 photo shoots end in a feast, but one that’s eaten from the bathroom counter as you scramble to clean up quickly enough to make it to the next event, and in running to get it all done, that date you had in mind gets pushed aside…

But then sometimes, if you’re lucky, you happen upon a park. And maybe, if you remember to take the time to stop, you rediscover just how much fun it is to play on the swings…

I’m pretty sure we’re past the point of outing ourselves as the homebodies that we are, but lately the weather has been particularly conducive to warm cozy blankets and nights on the couch. So this week we went with it…

What can I say, some days a girl just wants to stay home with a big bottle of wine and a meatball pizza on the floor.

This weekend we found ourselves the time to catch up on some of the things we love most… testing recipes, reading cookbooks, some neglected far too long. (I won’t even get started on my sad little pile of books…)

I’m struggling now with the time to catch up, because that time usually means saying no to something else. Something that I’m certain would be good for our business or our blog. But no matter how hard it is to say no, none of those pursuits will prosper if we don’t take the time to step back and (literally and figuratively) feed ourselves…

I won’t say I’ve mastered the art (far from) but this date, a little bit of luxury in an otherwise busy life, was definitely a step in the right direction.

I love the golden Maryland fields in the fall, when the corn is gone and the soy has turned.

The whole countryside turns yellow under the changing leaves, and it’s just perfect for a little while… the last bit of life before the freeze.

Mark and I celebrated his birthday this weekend with a drive through those fields, and brunch at a place I wish I could say we loved… but at least the bad food made for a good laugh. And now I guess we know why we hadn’t been before.

Today I’m holed up inside with a bad cold that seems to keep coming in waves, but I’m sitting on a little stockpile of pictures from our DC dinner that I can’t wait to share. So be sure to check back tomorrow for a treat! And keep your fingers crossed for me that I kick this thing soon. (Maybe staying out of the cool windy fields would help me on my way…)

The day after our third Field + Foundry event was a good one… we slept in, woke up slowly, had our coffee in bed, and when we finally did wander out of the house, it was with little on the agenda but a stroll through downtown.

So many great new shops have opened up in Frederick over the past year, and it feels like the landscape has changed significantly… but we haven’t had much time to explore. So we had fun catching up on the awesome wares at Citizen Frederick, Relish, Treaty, and so many more.

The air is getting colder, life is getting slower, and I’m looking forward to many more quiet weekends as we recover from a busy summer and plan our next move… how about you? Are you ready for a quiet winter? Or with the holidays on their way, is life just about to speed up?

One farmer’s market, two parties, fifty leather pouches (ahem… okay about thirty-five that turned out), multitudes of meetings, and one husband and one wife who’ve learned to be sure to savor every little second alone…

This week, on top of prep for our third Field + Foundry event this weekend, we’ve had plans almost every night.

So since one of those plans — the exciting opening night celebration of West Elm’s new Logan Circle store — took us down to DC, we made the best of the moment and took some extra leisurely time to enjoy the city.

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